District of Columbia Parks and Recreation Master Plan

Carlos Perez served as the Project Manager / Parks Planner and David Barth served as the Principal-In-Charge for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for the National Capital of the United States. Branded as PLAY DC, this plan developed a new, bold, and strategic vision for advancing Washington D.C.’s parks and recreation resources.

PLAY DC was comprised of six phases: Phase I: Capital + Programmatic Existing System Analysis which established an understanding of the existing and planned conditions of the District’s parks and recreation system by developing a baseline inventory of the District’s programmatic offerings, parks, and recreation centers; reviewing relevant plans and studies; and conducting site visits. Phase II: Historic Preservation Review assessed the District historical buildings and features and outlined their role within the parks system. Phase III: Capital + Programmatic Needs Assessment included a comprehensive, community participation-driven needs assessment process that employed qualitative, quantitative, and anecdotal analysis techniques to identify resident recreational, social, and cultural needs and desires. Phase IV: Visioning established a bold new vision for the District’s park system based on resident and stakeholder input as well as industry best practices. Phase V: Implementation Strategy articulated a phased plan for the realization of the new, robust parks and recreation system. Phase IV: Master Plan Report focused on creating a user friendly and graphically compelling document that could be easily understood by the public.

PLAY DC informed future decision making concerning District parks, recreation facilities, and programming, and, outlined a framework for capital investment.

The project was overseen by a 36 member advisory committee comprised of District of Columbia government department heads, directors, and representatives from various agencies and organizations throughout the National Capital.

Carlos and Dave achieved all of the project objectives of the District of Columbia Parks and Recreation Master Plan (Play DC) and through their dedication, responsiveness and professionalism exceeded client expectations. In my 15 years as a professional in government, Carlos and Dave are my favorite consultants with whom I have worked, and remain my go-to people when I have a tough question in the world of parks planning and design. In an industry where cookie-cutter contractor work is too common, Carlos and Dave are thoughtful and tireless in their problem solving and bring an extraordinary ability to create context-sensitive solutions.

- Christopher Delfs, Former Office of Planning Chief of Staff